Even among the most avid TC movie fans it is not widely known that the original venue for King Kong was not Manhattan. In this rarely seen storyboard view of Kong's climactic ascent, the Temple Theater and not the Empire State Building was the king's hideout. In a typical Hollywood blunder we see the area to the east of the theater as a thick redwood forest, hardly in keeping with the actual local vegetation.

Sadly, when the first version was previewed, audiences found Kong looking more... Continues...

After about an hour on Ancestry.com last fall, I found that Temple City founder Walter Pablo Temple’s father F.P.F. Temple, was the son of Jonathan Temple and Lucinda Parker (1779-1856), who was the daughter of Caleb Parker and Hannah Garfield (1750-1816), who was the daughter of Thomas Garfield 1713-1774.

That same Thomas Garfield was also the father of Solomon Garfield (1743-1807), who was the father of Thomas Garfield (1773-1801, who was the father of Abram Garfield (1799-1833), who was... Continues...

An hour or so on Ancestry.com can be interesting. TC founder Walter P. Temple's paternal New England line crosses from England in the 1630s. That much is probably true; it can be documented in the census from 1790 and from town and church records for the other 150 years of the colonial period, beginning with the immigrant Abraham Temple.

Temple's maternal Workman line blends English and Mexican ancestors and disappears into the mists and myths of New Spain around 1620 with families named... Continues...

According to the Star News, the TC Albertsons at the southwest corner of Rosemead and Las Tunas will close in April 2009. No plans have been announced for the location, which has served the community for about 30 years.

UPDATE: 2018 -- And so it was written that the Albertson's and its neighbors did verily into history pass, joining the Temple Theater and other landmarks in the great gazeteer of history.

The old Temple Theater property (recently Edwards, et al.) is due for redevelopment; the plan is a subject of some local controversy. If you have a comment, jump in! (Click Comments; scroll to bottom of article.)